saunders



Y 2 shets-sneet 2. A. D* SAUNDERS.

(No Model.)

y SPRING MOTOR.. No. 382,556.

. PateintedM-ay; 1888.

WMM/aaa@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED D. SAUNDERS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SPRING-MOTOR. l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 382,556, dated May a, leas.

Application filed January 16, 1888. Serial No. 260,925. (No'model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED D. SAUNDERs,

' of Brooklyn,in the county of Kings andState of NewYork,haveinventedcertain newand useful Improvements in Spring-Motors, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in spring-motors especially adapted for furnishing the driving-power for light machinerysuch as sewing-machines, &c.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved spring-motor especially adapted for driving sewing-machines or other light machinery, and which shall be compact, occupying an exceedingly small space, and which can be easily wound up, and will furnish an even, regular,and continuous motion; and a further object is to provide certain details of construcf tion and arrangement of parts whereby the construction of the motor is greatly improved Fig. 1, looking from the top. Fig. 3 is` an end` view of the brake wheel or pulley and the treadle and connecting-rod. Fig. 4 is a section through the actuating-spring and casing Y containing the same; `also showing a portion of the shaft-sections, one of said sections being shown in cross-section and illustrating the clutch by which the said sections of the main shaft can be thrown in and out of gear with each other. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the brake-regulating device. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the locking or stopping latch. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the lever used in regulating the brake device; and Fig. 8y is a crosssection of the portion of the main drivingattached,

shaft to which the driving-spring is illustrating a portion manner in which the same is attached to the shaft-section to allow the longitudinal movement of said section.

4of the-spring and the In the drawings, thereferenceletter A rep i resents the platform or table of a sewing-machine provided with the usual legs or stand A cylindrical casing or sheathing, A',is sus` pended a suitable distance beneath the table or platform A between the legs or standards by means of hangers a a2. A main drivingshaft,B,is journaled at its opposite ends in the standards a a and extends centrally through the casing, and is provided preferably `upon its right-hand portion near the standard a with aliy or drive wheel, a3, connected with the mechanism of the sewing-machine in any Suitable manner, as by belting.

Two secondary or auxiliary shafts, b bf, are

YThe shaft B is formed in two sections,I b2 b3.

rlhe section b2, which carries the iiy-wheel and gearing, is preferably of a greater diameter than sectionba, and is provided in its join ing end with a cylindrical recess or 'mortisedout portion of the sameof a greater internal diameter .than the diameter of the section b, and the inner end of said recess is made square or angular, vas shown in Fig. 4, and the inner end of section b3 is provided with a squared or angular end adapted to removably enter said squared recess in section b2, and thus cause the sections to rotate together; but the section ba is mounted so as to have a limited longitudinal movement-i. e., suiiicient to allow the square end ,to be withdrawn vfrom the squarev Thus the section b3 can be pulled Voutward and rotated by means of the 'crank or handle m upon its end tol wind up thel spring without rotating the other section and gearlng.

IOO

the groove, Which should be of sufficient lengthto permit the desired longitudinal movement of the shaft-section.

A gear-wheel, d, is rigidly secured to the driving-shaft near the inner end of section 52,

' ondary shaft b.

and is adapted to mesh with a pinion, k, of a less diameter,secured to secondary shaft b. A gear-wheel, e', is secured to shaft b, and is adapted to mesh with a pinion, d', loosely mounted upon the driving-shaft, to which is secured a gear-wheel, d, also loosely mounted on the driving-shaft, and the driving-shaft is also provided with a similar pinion and gearwheel, d d4, secured together and loosely mounted on said shaft, and with a pinion, di", also loosely mounted on said shaft. The gearwheel d meshes with pinion f, secured to sec- Pinion d meshes with gearwheel f', secured to shaft b. Gear-wheel dA1 meshes with pinion e?, loosely mounted on shaft b. Pinion d5 meshes with gear-wheel e3, secured to pinion e2 and mounted loosely on shaft b. Thus it will be seen that the spring imparts to the driving-wheel a regular, continuous, and steady motion through the shafts and system of gearing.

The ends of the shafts b b extend through one end of the casing A, and the secondary shaft b is provided upon its outer end with a pulley, g, loosely mounted on the same, and to the periphery of said pulley one. end of a brake-strap, 7L, is secured. Upon the outer end of secondary shaft b is rigidly secured a brake-pulley, t', provided with radiallyextend ing slots in its outer side or face, Fig. 3, and with a grooved periphery which is adapted to receive the brake-strap h. A short shaft, j, is mounted in suitable hangers upon the under side of the platform or table of the machine above the brakepulley, and on said shaftj is mounted a pulley, K, to which the upper op posite end of the brake-strap 7L is secured. A ratchet-wheel K is also rigidly mounted on said shaftj, and a pawl, K2, is pivoted at'one side of an opening in the platform A, and is adapted to engage said ratchet-wheel and prevent it from rotating in one direction. A drum, e, is mounted on shaft j, and is provided with a series of openings around its periphery which are adapted to receive one end of a detachable brake strap -operating lever, L, whereby the shaft j can be rotated, and with it the ratchet-wheel and pulley. Above the ratchet-wheel and pawl the platform is provided with an opening adapted to be normally closed by a hinged cover, Z', whereby the opv erator can readily see that the brake-strap and attachments are working satisfactorily.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that the brakestra p )L passes from pulley g over the under surface of the brakepulley t', and from thence' upwardly to pulley K, and that by turning the shaftj by means of the lever L the brake-strap can be made to bear with more orvless pressure upon the surface of the brake-pulley, and thus the speed of the motor can be readily regulated or stopped.

A treadle, M, is journaled in the lower part of the frame, preferably upon a brace or rod, m, and said treadle is connected with the brake-pulley t' by a connecting-rod, n, pivotally secured to the toe of the treadle at its lower end and at its upper end pivotally secured to the face of the brake-pulley at one side of its center, or eccentrically. A vertically-operating bell-crank ortriangular-shaped lockingdatch, O, is pivoted at its elbow to the connecting-rod n at a point opposite and a suitable distance from the slotted face of the brake-pulley, one of the arms of said latch forming ahandle,while its other arm 1s adapted to enter a slot in the brake-pulley, and thus hold the mechanism of the motor from operation.

It will be readily seen that the speed of the motor at any particular point can be regulated or stopped by the pressure of the operators foot upon the treadle. lf it is desired to stop the operation of the motor and hold the gearing against rotation for any length of time, the revolution ofthe gearing can be gradually slowed up by the pressure of the foot upon the treadle, and when the operation has been sufficiently retarded the locking latch .can be swung around, so that an arm will fall into one of the slots in the brake-pulley, thus holding the motor from operating, and when it 1s desired to again start the operation the operator has simply to swing the latch vertically until its arm passes from engagement with the slot in the brake-pulley.

The operation of the device will be fully understood from the foregoing description and the drawings.

It is clearly evident that numerous slight changes might be made in the form and arrangement of the various parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the precise construction set forth, but consider myself entitled to all such changes.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The herein-described spring-motor, consisting, essentially, in the combination of a main drivingshaft provided upon one end with a hand-crank, a fly or driving wheel secured to said shaft near its opposite end and by which motion is imparted to the mechanism to be driven, a spring secured to the shaft at its end opposite the driving-wheel to actuate the shaft, a pair of secondary shafts journaled on opposite sides of the main shaft, a gear-wheel secured to the main shaft near the IOO IIO

end upon which the spring is secured, a pinion secured to one of the secondary shafts andmeshing with the gear rigid'onthe main shaft, a gear-wheel secured to said secondary shaft, a gear-Wheel and pinion secured together and loosely mounted on the-main shaft, the pinion meshing with the gear-wheel on said secondary shaft, a pinion secured to the opposite secondary shaft and meshing with said gearwheel loosely rotating on the main shaft, a gear-wheel rigidly mountedon said last-mentioned secondary shaft, and a train of intermeshing gearing loosely mounted on t-he main shaft and on each secondary shaft between the driving-Wheel and the beforenientioned rigid gears, said train of loose gearing receiving motion from the gear-wheel rigidly secured to the lastmcntioned secondary shaft, as set forth.

2. In a spring-motor, the combination of a main driving-shaft formed in two sections, one of said sections having a limited longitudinal movement,whereby said longitudinally-movable section can-be rotated independently of the other section, a spring secured to the 1ongitudinally-movable section, and a crank -to opera-te saidsection gearing upon the other section, and a driving or y wheel upon said section, substantially as described.v

3. The combinatiomwith the main shaft, of secondary shafts, gearing connecting said main shaft and secondary shafts, a brake-pulley upon one end of a secondary shaft and provided with radial slots in its face, a treadle, a rod connecting the treadle and brake-pulley, and a locking-latch adapted to enter one of said slots in the brake-pulley, substantially as described. j

4. The combination, in a motor adapted to actuate a sewing-machine, of a main shaft, secondary shafts, gearing connecting said shafts, a brake-pulley upon one end of a second-Y ary shaft, a shaft journaled on the under side of the machine-table, a pulley on said shaft, a

brake-strap engaging the under face of the brake-pulley and passing upward and secured to the pulley beneath the machine-table, ay

ratchet-wheel onv said-shaft journaled to the machinestable, a pawl to hold the same, and a lever whereby said shaft can be rotated 'and the tension of the brake-strap on the brakepulley regulated, substantially as described.

5. In a spring-motor, the combination,with l the main driving-shaft, the spring to actuate the same, secondary shafts journaled upon each side of said main shaft, gearing connectingsaid main shaft and secondary shafts, a

brake-pulley secured to the end of asecondown I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y

ALFRED D. SAUNDERS. t Witnesses: l

JULIUs SOLGER, CHARLES' M. WERLE. 

